Halloween past present and future 2
Christian influences spread into Celtic lands by the year 800, and Pope Boniface IV declared November 1 as All Saint’s Day. This day was a time to honor all saints and martyrs. This was considered an attempt to replace the pagan holiday with a church sanctioned holiday.
Also referred to as ‘All-hallows’ or ‘All-hallowmas’, the night before was called ‘All-hallows Eve’ or ‘Halloween.’ Two-hundred years later, the Church again stepped in and made November 2, ‘All Souls Day’ in honor of the dead. Same as with ‘Samhain’, bonfires, parades and festivities took place, and costumes of angels, saints, and devils became popular. These three celebrations became known as ‘Hallowmas.’
European immigrants coming to America brought costumes with them, but rigid Protestant beliefs in New England hampered celebrations. An American version of Halloween started to develop as European ethnic groups and American Indian groups meshed the celebration with their own beliefs. Again, the harvest was a focal point, and gatherings always included stories of the deceased, fortune telling, dancing and singing. Ghost stories were apparent in Colonial celebrations, and mischief making abounded. By mid-19th Century, autumn festivals were abundant, but Halloween itself was not mainstream yet.
The 1800s with its influx of immigrants, especially Irishmen fleeing the country’s potato famine, popularized Halloween more so than previously. Using both the English and Irish traditions, an American culture of Halloween celebration sprung up, and going door-to-door started. Young women took to making predictions on their husbands’ futures using yarns and mirrors, and by the late 1800s, Halloween became more a time of community than a serious holiday. Ghosts, witches, and pranks were less commonplace. The holiday lost much superstitious and religious ties.
